The Legend of Bagger Spade*

 Please allow me to introduce myself.  I'm a man of wealth and f....wait.  Wrong intro. 

My name is Tommy.  And I'm addicted to smart man-bags.  And bargains.  When the two worlds collide, I'm positively giddy.  Recently I found this black Jack Spade tote at UAL here in Nashville. 

It still had the original tag, showing that it once required two hundred and ninety-five dollars to call someone Daddy (or Mommy).  The store's price was around eighty.  Ever the savvy shopper, I pointed out to an associate that it lacked the all-important shoulder strap.  I carried it out of the joint for around sixty.

*Do I usually reach my goal of having completely corny blog post titles?

Bossypants

You may be wondering what took me so long to read this book.  Well, it took a while to obtain it from the library.  But I'm glad I did.  It's smart, honest, and laugh-a-minute.  There's not much else I can say about Tina Fey, but this excerpt (from page 92) about her vacation on a cruise gives a good idea of what to expect:

It is worth noting that at this time, I had been doing Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live for two full seasons.  I am not recognized by anyone.  Well, I am recognized by the guy who refills the soft-serve ice cream machine by the pool, but not for being on TV, just for lingering.  For O!  The desserts!  Rows and rows of pastries laid out cafeteria-style.  Some of them are unidentifiable squares of pink stuff.  I think we called it junket back in the seventies.  They don't taste good; but like a schoolboy at his first coed dance, I am drawn not so much by their beauty as by their unlimited quantities.

Sneak Peek...

Big news is coming soon...

A Storybook Winter

JK.  This winter is more like Florida-lite.  But I did quite enjoy the e-mail ad I received today from Cole Haan, where, incidentally, I'm almost sure I spotted Ludacris a few weeks ago.

*Note: I actually received the e-mail two days ago, when I tried to do this post.  But Blogger was not cooperating.  Also, it is now snowing.

2012 is the Year to Max it Out

It's a great time of year, of course.  Despite the holiday bloat and that whole confused/back-to-work thing, doesn't it feel like an excellent time for new possibilities?!

I know I've posted about IRAs before, but it's prime time to take another glance.  This is a graphic that I scanned from Real Simple (December 2011) and then altered, color-wise, through Picnik.com.  It started out green (apropos, non?), but the invert feature gave this cool purple and blue combo.  This version is also a bit easier to read.  You can also click the graphic to enlarge it a bit.  Eye strain is never specs-y, peeps.

Anywho, open an IRA.  Contribute to it.  Enjoy it later.  You'll be so glad that you did.  And the earlier you start, the more monies you will earn.  Consider dollar cost averaging, per Suze.

Happy New Year!